Police have issued a new warning about the dangers of inhaling so-called laughing gas.

Officers who cover the Freemen and Aylestone council wards in Leicester said they have found hundreds of nitrous oxide cannisters across the two neighbourhoods.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the South Leicester Police said they were visited affected areas to warn users of the potential risks to their health of inhaling the gas.

Officers said: “Contrary to what many users believe, there are risks attached to nitrous oxide.

“Prolonged usage causes the oxygen level in the body to drop, which is required for breathing.

“It can cause unconsciousness and in serious cases, death.”

Officers posted on their Facebook page a photograph of some of the cannisters they have picked up in the area.

They said: “These were picked up from the floor in only one area, and believed to have been littered over the course of a couple of nights at most.

“This is an obscene volume of litter and scary to think of the risk these users put themselves in, all in the name of getting high.

“We will continue our regular patrols in the key areas.”

Leicestershire Police has previously warned people about the potentially lethal craze of inhaling laughing gas.

The gas, which can be bought legally in small canisters and has practical industrial uses, produces a brief euphoria but floods users’ lungs and can cause unconsciousness or death due to a lack of oxygen.